I'm sure you have a few: bands that you really like, despite something about them that you really dislike. For instance: you only like their early albums, you like most of their work but not their best known songs, but like their studio work but not their live performances (or vice versa), you like their music but not the people in the band, or you can't identify with the band's image, etc.

Some of mine:

Beach Boys: greatest band of all time, but I almost never listen to their pre-Pet Sounds materialRed Hot Chili Peppers: love everything up until 'One Hot Minute', everything they've done since is kind of lameElvis Presley: one of the greatest singers and performers of all time, but he recorded more bad than good songsBeastie Boys: were brilliant from the late 80s until the 90s, but dumb before that and boring after thatNirvana: amazing band but Kurt was an a**holeGreen Day: only their first four albums were greatElliott Smith: can't get into his first two albums, but the others are incredible

Aerosmith: love almost everything they've done up until 1982 and almost nothing since then.Kinks: ditto, only replace 1982 with 1972.Gabriel-era Genesis: love them on basically every level except for my indifference towards the lyrics - I can rarely make sense of what Gabriel's singing about and most of the time I don't even try.Guns n' Roses: they were incredible as a singles band, but their albums were usually a mess. Axl was usually kinda annoying live, too.Kanye West: his personality is a huge turn-off, I would probably smack him in the head if he were my friend. But I can still find things of interest in some of his music (I still wouldn't call myself a fan though).

Amy Winehouse: 'Back To Black' is one of my favourite albums of the past decade, but on the other hand I don't really like 'Frank' at all. Kind of a big deal, given that those are the only two albums she released in her lifetime.

Talking Heads: 'Fear of Music' and 'Remain In Light' are genius, mind-bending records that deserve all the praise they get. Everything else I've heard, be it either pre or post those leaves me cold. They needed Eno to truly make things work.

No beef. As a musician, Kurt Cobain is one of my heroes. He was one of the main reasons why I got into alternative music and playing guitar 20 years ago. As a teen, I spend more time playing along with Nirvana records than doing homework and I once read Michael Azerrad's book about Nirvana three times in a row. But Tony Asher's famous quote about Brian Wilson probably applies even more to Cobain: "a genius musician but an amateur human being".

No beef. As a musician, Kurt Cobain is one of my heroes. He was one of the main reasons why I got into alternative music and playing guitar 20 years ago. As a teen, I spend more time playing along with Nirvana records than doing homework and I once read Michael Azerrad's book about Nirvana three times in a row. But Tony Asher's famous quote about Brian Wilson probably applies even more to Cobain: "a genius musician but an amateur human being".

I dunno Joost, I think about 80% of the rock-stars that made it big are a**holes in one way or another. Was just wondering why was Cobain the only one to make your list and why not an easier target like Johnny Rotten, Axl Rose, Mike Love etc. I don't remember atm reading anything truly bad about him, but I'm probably (more like surely) not as informed on the matter as you are.

I dunno Joost, I think about 80% of the rock-stars that made it big are a**holes in one way or another. Was just wondering why was Cobain the only one to make your list and why not an easier target like Johnny Rotten, Axl Rose, Mike Love etc. I don't remember atm reading anything truly bad about him, but I'm probably (more like surely) not as informed on the matter as you are.

I just think he was a pretty misanthropic, negative, holier-than-thou, egocentric person. The kind of guy who would come to your party, bum everyone out, destroy your records and call you a redneck macho pig for kicking him out.

Last Saturday there was some footage from Nirvana's show at the Paradiso in Amsterdam in 1991 on TV. A camera guy was just filming him from a distance, not bothering him in any way. Suddenly Kurt decides to try to push him off the stage. It was a pretty high stage and the guy had a big, heavy camera on his shoulder, so it was really dangerous. I just thought that was just pretty typical: Kurt the alternative icon slash tortured artist almost breaking some poor guy's neck just to make some kind of crazy anti corporate media statement (or something...).

And two years later he's doing MTV Uplugged.

Kurt Cobain will always be one of my musical idols and I'm certain that despite his fame and fortune his life was miserable. But still, he was an a**hole.

Jethro Tull-kind of lost me after Stormwatch, some good songs, but nothing like their earlier stuff.E.L.O.-I lost interest after Discovery. Time makes me feel uneasy when I try to listen, I'm not sure why.The Who-they gave it the old college try after Moon died but it really wasn't the same. Eminence Front is a really good song though.Cheap Trick-they had it, lost it after Dream Police, then got it back again with Cheap Trick 97 and the records after that.

Beach Boys: greatest band of all time, but I almost never listen to their pre-Pet Sounds material

Some very pretty songs came before Pet Sounds like Wendy, In My Room, Don't Worry Baby, When I Grow Up To Be A Man, California Girls, The Little Girl I Once Knew and Do You Wanna Dance? I hope you're not depriving yourself of those, Joost.

Some very pretty songs came before Pet Sounds like Wendy, In My Room, Don't Worry Baby, When I Grow Up To Be A Man, California Girls, The Little Girl I Once Knew and Do You Wanna Dance? I hope you're not depriving yourself of those, Joost.

I've got all the early albums and I used to listen to them a lot, but I got a little bit tired of them. Albums like 'Friends', 'Pet Sounds' and 'Sunflower' on the other hand, I can listen to those every day of the week without ever getting bored. There's just so much more depth in that music, more layers, more diversity, much more going on... The songs you listed all have gorgeous vocals and melodies, but compared to the 1966-1971 material they just sound a little bit shallow to me.

My 'but' is always the same, I'm afraid.'I love them, but only up to '69/1970/1971/1972*' (*delete as appropriate - it's normally '69!).

In particular.....The Who until they stopped making great 45s and focused on dull 'rock operas' instead (i.e. up to 'Tommy'.....i.e. '69).The Stones until they concentrated on LPs over 45s/U.S. stadium tours/Brian died (i.e. '69).Dylan until he got ironic and made pap (i.e. Self Portrait.....i.e. up to Nashville Skyline.....i.e. '69).

And I like David Bowie up to the point everyone started liking him, his mid-60s 45s especially.

Much of it has to do with the 'look' of the artist/group as well (i.e. in 1976 The Stones looked awful.....in 1966 they looked fantastic).

I've got all the early albums and I used to listen to them a lot, but I got a little bit tired of them. Albums like 'Friends', 'Pet Sounds' and 'Sunflower' on the other hand, I can listen to those every day of the week without ever getting bored. There's just so much more depth in that music, more layers, more diversity, much more going on... The songs you listed all have gorgeous vocals and melodies, but compared to the 1966-1971 material they just sound a little bit shallow to me.

Living through that time in the 1960s, Joost, I got to witness The Beach Boys go from a typical good West Coast band singing about surfing and cars to a group that led the way in music writing, arrangements and orchestration. This was Brian Wilson's genius mind at work. Some of his musical innovations predated those of The Beatles and served as an impetus for John Lennon and Paul McCartney. When I first heard the songs I mentioned, I was struck by their departure from singing about girls, surfing and cars. We didn't have the internet or any decent trade publications to help us understand what was going on, but those changes coincided with my coming of age and I knew there was something special going on with The Beach Boys. Yes, those songs were not as complex as those which would soon follow but they were in a league of their own in the time they were first heard.

Pet Sounds was released when I was 16 years old. I bought the album and took it along to summer camp with me where I worked as a waiter. We couldn't stop listening to it along with Blonde On Blonde. We had no radio reception in that part of Pennsylvania so the LPs we brought with us and 45s we bought in town were all we had to listen to. Rubber Soul was the current Beatles LP and Pet Sounds was way ahead of that.

That was a very special summer for music. There was Motown, folk and folk rock, jug band music and early psychedelic rock. And then there was The Beatles...and The Beach Boys.

nimrod

Im a Stones fan UNTIL Ronnie Wood joined, theyre greatest period for me was early 70's, Sticky Fingers & Exile were great albums.

Im a Fleetwood Mac Fan (but only the Peter Green era)

Im a Genesis fan (but not after Peter Gabriel left)

Im a fan of America (but not after Dan Peek left)

Im a fan of Supertramp (until Roy Hodgson left)

Im a Pink Floyd fan (but not so much after Syd Barrett era)

Im a Moody Blues fan (but not so much after Mike Pinder left)

its all about somebody leaving for me

Oh Neil Young, I love everything up to his heavy grunge period, 20 minute meaningless guitar solo's on things like Hurricane & Rust for me are very boring, but Goldrush, Harvest, Neil Young, Stars & Bars, Zuma, On The Beach were all fantastic